Appropriate dosage? Semi-experienced n00b.

[kl.Kathy Fan 2]

I tried making my own kava drinks a few years back, it went horribly. I didn't have the right type of strainer, I didn't knead it enough, I blended it wrong, I used all the wrong dosages. Total disaster.
I have since revisited it and I have been taking capsules (to no effect) and kava kava tincture/extract (to some slight effect) as a test and get reacquainted with the taste. I ordered half a pound of Tongan kava from N@H and I am wondering what a good dosage to start out and avoid nausea would be. I still want to feel considerable effects but not make myself sick - or also not waste too much seeing as how I might have the reverse tolerance effect.
I'm trying to use a 2 tbsp to 1 cup of water ratio, as that seems to be the 'norm' for those who think the 1cup kava to 4 cups water is extreme.
How many cups does one usually make to feel full krunkness once they have paid their dues to the kava Gods?

 

[starsofclay]

lol i think you may get a response like - "what does krunkness really mean anyway?" but to be honest i think its different for everyone, just like some nights i can feel really good on a couple of shells, and some nights i can feel nothing but calm and relaxed on 4 shells. And don't drink to get krunk either, because if you don't get what you expect "krunk" to be, then you may be disappointed, and the whole kava session will be probably worthless. instead, drink the kava expecting to feel relaxed and peaceful and happy, which you should have no problem feeling, and let the "krunk" come to you... if it does, it does. if it doesn't, oh well. you are still feeling good and maybe you will get "krunk" next time.



all i'm saying is don't set your hopes up high for failure. lol



If i were you, i wouldn't drink a cup at a time, i would drink half a cup and space them out 15-30 mins between each one, seeing as i've heard there's not much difference from drinking 1/2 cup or a cup, except you run out of kava faster



If I'm wrong about that please someone correct me because maybe I'm doing it wrong.

oh, and 2 tbs to a cup is good. sometimes i do 3. and sometimes when i do 3, it doesn't feel any stronger at all.  so then i kick myself and say... "i think i'll just do two like last time"

 

[kl.Kathy Fan 2]

Sorry - I'm not really good at conveying my full thoughts into words for forums. I was using 'krunk' basically as you describe what I should hope for. Calming, relaxing effects. That's my main use of all the herbs I've tried (valerian, skullcap, 5 HTP, K@) or whatever else. Reduction of anxiety is all I'm 'looking' for. And since I got no effects last time when I prepared my kava entirely wrong (this was about 3 years ago), it really can't be any worse this time. But I've done a lot more research and prepared to make it well this time.

 

[starsofclay]

haha no, its all good, i think i was preaching to myself anyway. even though i said all that, i still go into each kava session with higher expectations than i should. just hoping i could spread the word and maybe take some of my own advice

 

[kl.Kathy Fan 2]

Well, I just made my first batch. I used 2 tablespoons (not heaping) per cup of water. I used 3 cups of water, so I put 6 tablespoons. I let sit in room temp. water for 30 minutes in a blender with some coconut milk as well. (blended for about 2 seconds just to mix it all up)



After 30 minutes I blended for 5 minutes in 30 second intervals at all different speeds. I didn't know which one was best, so, I just went with it. Added a little Hershey's syrup (cause I hate the taste of kava and I heard this can help with the bitterness).



Then I used a knee high stocking, put it over the top of the blender and poured everything into a bowl. I tied a knot to the knee high and started kneading the hell out of the pulp that was caught inside. For about 10 minutes. It was completely dry when I was finished and I wrang it out and got every little bit of everything I could.



Hope I did it right. I put a cap on the bowl and put it in the fridge because I find it's easier to drink kava when it's cold. Or at least I remember that from a few years ago, if you want to call it easier...definitely an acquired taste.

 

[starsofclay]

lol i wish i had your patience.. i usually intend to do all that you mentioned and then cut about half of it out because im too impatient. but anyway, let us know how this went for you!



I'm experimenting with a new trick of letting the sediment settle to the bottom and then skimming off the top as much as possible, which apparently concentrates the kava and makes it more potent. i.e. more kava sediment, less water = hitting stronger. i hope

and i'm drinking the stuff i skimmed off the top first, because it is still brown so it still obviously has some good stuff in it, but if i drink that first it kind of prepares my body for the good stuff at the bottom

 

[kl.Kathy Fan 2]

Definitely felt SOMETHING. Not quite what I think I'm after, but I'm not going to give up yet. The "wave" of socialness is starting to wear off, about an hour and a half after I started drinking it. I have drank all 3 cups now. My fingers/hands went slightly numb/tingly, music was much more enjoyable and I found myself closing my eyes and dancing in my chair. It made me feel very at ease and calm with my surroundings and want to chat.



Hoping to try some more tomorrow with the same preparation, maybe no coconut milk this time. Maybe less blending and more kneading, too. I think the blending for as long as I did maybe got it TOO fine and allowed a lot of grit to pass through. I also didn't do a second strain, so maybe that is why. But my drink wasn't as smooth as I think it could have been.

 

[starsofclay]

did you drink it on an empty stomach? many people on here swear by it that you need to drink it on an empty stomach and then eat about 45 mins later. makes the effects much stronger. I was in the middle of my experiment and had one shell left but my friend came home with some fast food so i ate that and kind of ruined the last bowl but I will try the concentration thing again probably tomorrow. still feel really relaxed though.



and im not sure if i got the wrong brand of coconut milk, but i tried that with kava last week and that stuff was nasty and made the kava taste nasty too. i did get the cheapest brand though

 

[kl.Kathy Fan 2]

Made the same batch again, this time replacing 1 cup of water with high-fat milk and not using any coconut milk. Same effects, but not as much mouth-numbing. I'm wondering if it's because of the milk, maybe it breaks down something in the kava?



All in all I do enjoy the effects. I love music/coloring/artsy stuff, and that is all much more enjoyable after drinking the kava. I'm thinking it's the Tongan kava, and if I want the "heady" and wobbly effects of kava then I should get some Chief's or Stone kava. Maybe once this stuff is done.

 

[kl.Kathy Fan 2]

Holy wow - I take it back. I poured my last cup and drank that, and at the bottom was almost a sandy/watery mixture that was pretty nasty to drink down, but it numbed my mouth more than the entire mixture had (though still wasn't much). Still felt fine after that, but then I made a chicken patty sandwich really quick in the micro and now I feel the "heady" feeling as if I were drunk or at least pretty buzzed. Relaxed. Happy. Hard to walk. But feel amazing. No nausea. Can't wait to have more tomorrow, maybe reverse tolerance is finally done.

 

[kl.Kathy Fan 2]

Wow, I really feel the "heady" feeling now. It is like being dizzy/slightly light-headed while being relaxed and calm. This is nice. My entire body feels wobbly. Music is amazing. I keep listening to dance music and electronica.

 

[starsofclay]

that's good... haven't really felt that on tongan yet.. it makes me want to get up and do stuff but not really relaxed or anything... i think it seems you weren't stirring enough before each bowl if you had that much sandy stuff left on bottom, but i could be wrong. but you have to keep the stuff suspended by stirring so that each bowl contains a good amount of kavalactones. or you can do what you did and have a really GOOD last bowl haha